OK, I'll give this one a shot. I dont have nearly enough talent to come up with an original game (if I could I would design games for a living!), but I should be able to make something out of Risk. I still haven't gotten tired of Steam-punk, so I think I will try to make up a steampunky Risk game. So far I have a basic map. Now I need to detail it, come up with card backs and card fronts, and counters and player mats and rules. Noooo problem...:mrgreen:

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Cunning Cartographer

01-09-2014, 03:44 AM

It would have been nice to see a variation on the world itself and different shaped/named territories (keeping the same bordering countries, but not having it look so much like the earth we know) due to the idea that if we were a Steampunk world then I'm sure the border and countries wouldn't be as they are (plus it would make your game/map more original). Secondly I don't think the text sits particularly well on the map, though typography isn't my strong point either I just know it looks a little rough.

As for the actually map, it looks really great. I love the effects on the borders and the textures work really well and I look forward to seeing how the detailing works out.

Carbus

01-09-2014, 07:50 AM

I agree with Yospeck with the typography choice, If it`s bad seeing it digitally, when you print it it will look worse!
Take a look at these: Steampunk Font - A Collection of Free Steampunks Fonts (http://www.steampunkfont.com/)
Also with a different variations of the borders, or who knows maybe a new world with new countries, regions, etc, just to keep the idea fresh, and no another Earth-based Risk!

Other than that, I really like the style and colors!

timallen

01-09-2014, 09:56 AM

Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely look into changing the area names and see about finding a better font. I kept the boarders the way they are because I assumed that the classic Risk layout was balanced for game-play, but I can see about tweaking them.

Cunning Cartographer

01-09-2014, 12:07 PM

As far as the borders go, you would only need to shift them slightly and change the shape so it isn't so conformed to the Risk we know, and that would keep the board balanced.

Practically... is anyone ever going to play on your board? Quite likely they aren't, so balancing doesn't matter and you can just go nuts! Think about which nations would rise and fall and tell a story with the map whilst keeping the general Risk theme. Who cares if Russia is an Industral power and takes up the North!? Have fun with it, we're map makers not game designers.

timallen

01-09-2014, 12:21 PM

Here is a bit of work I did on the card-backs. Right now I am thinking there will be two sets of cards- one set for countries, and a separate set that can be purchased and which will give the players special abilities. Figuring out just What those should be...thats a whole other matter.

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timallen

01-09-2014, 01:28 PM

we're map makers not game designers

Actually, I'm an aspiring game designer. :)

Jalyha

01-09-2014, 02:32 PM

Well, I'm neither, yet, but I've been told I have a good eye, and I think it's lovely :)

So... That's all.

kbye

~Jalyha

timallen

01-09-2014, 02:50 PM

Here is the latest map. I changed the names, the font and some of the territory boarders. I still don't like the font for the territories, but its getting there.

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Jalyha

01-09-2014, 03:52 PM

!!

United States of Texas made me laugh. :) (Although any Texan will tell you it should be bigger).

I really like the designs on the board (ship/airship)

It looks really nice :)

timallen

01-10-2014, 10:48 PM

I made some more tweaks and changes to the map. More "continents" are now present, as well as some neutral territories, which dont count towards any continental bonus. The next step will be to make up about 50 to 70 cards, most of which will give the player various bonus actions. These will be similar to the cards that come with the game "Risk 2210", but in a much more simplified form- in that game you got money to buy cards and points for armies. I plan to have players get points to buy both cards And armies. Cards will be events like "Zeppelin Raid!", and "Long range torpedoes", and as many other things I can think up. So in the game, the player will first, add up the number of territories and bonuses he has, and then divides that by 3, like in regular Risk. Then you take that number of points (I may include paper monopoly style money) and use them to buy cards and armies, one for one. Also, I will be making up 5-6 player faction cards. These will have the players faction name, a special ability only they have, and a unique victory condition for each player. Having different ways to win will hopefully keep the relatively quick.
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timallen

01-13-2014, 05:19 PM

I have started working on the cards. 9 done. Many more to go...

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Carbus

01-13-2014, 06:49 PM

Really nice! My only opinion is about the Booby Trap effect, I think itīs OP, maybe make a player roll a dice? Losing half an army IMO is too much! Or I donīt know make that a desperate card, where all the armies inside that territory (even your own) lose some units.
Other than that, nice pictures and layout!

arsheesh

01-13-2014, 06:54 PM

Those are lovely cards!

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

timallen

01-13-2014, 07:28 PM

Thanks.

The Booby-trap may be over powered...but notice that you only play it After your opponent has advanced, and thus won the combat. Hmmm...maybe a max. number you can loose. Say, 4 or 5.

Carbus

01-13-2014, 07:34 PM

Thanks.

The Booby-trap may be over powered...but notice that you only play it After your opponent has advanced, and thus won the combat. Hmmm...maybe a max. number you can loose. Say, 4 or 5.

Oh now I see.Well in that case I think itīs great, a little surprise, but something thatīs not a game changer! Keep the good work!

timallen

01-14-2014, 11:44 AM

As the ideas for the game rules evolve (in my head) so must the cards...and the map but I will tackle that later. Here is an example of what the cards will now look like. Two new icons and a number will be on most of them. The icon and number to the left shows at what level the Airship track on the player mat has to be at, in order to play the card. The gun icon to the right means the card can be discarded for an additional army, instead of being held or played for the card action.

The game seems to be morphing more into a resource-management game than a Risk Rip-off. Each player mat will have three tracks on it, for army navy and airship. The spaces on the track will go from 0 to 6 and when you collect resource points at the beginning of your turn, you can add them to these tracks, use them to buy cards, or buy armies. Higher levels on the tracks will give you added bonuses, like more dice you can roll in combat. So, for instance, the card attached here would need the player who is holding it to have the Airship track be at level 2 or more to actually play it...but if he (or she!) doesnt have that, they can still get an army out of it.

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timallen

01-14-2014, 08:38 PM

18 cards made...I think I will make up two more groups of 18 for a total of 54 cards.

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timallen

01-14-2014, 08:40 PM

And here is a sample of one of the player mats I am working on.

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arsheesh

01-14-2014, 08:50 PM

Ooh, ooh pick me, I want to play the Anarchists! Who knows, maybe we'll win this time around.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

timallen

01-15-2014, 12:58 PM

Sure you can be the Anarchists! But I still need to tweak them a bit...the Victory Conditions are not right for one. Other factions I am thinking of are The Imperialists, The League of Nemo, The Zeppelin Masters, and The Rail Barons. But thats for later; right now I want to get the cards done. One more set of 18 done. One more set to go.

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tainotim

01-16-2014, 05:06 AM

I really like this one so far, the cards and the overall design is awesome! However, I'm curious. The art you use to decorate the cards and the board isn't something you've drawn yourself, right? If you have it would be very impressive! :)

timallen

01-16-2014, 10:17 AM

Yes, that would be impressive! :) Unfortunately I can't take any credit for them. All that art was gathered by me from various parts of the internet- mostly by simple image searches in google using terms like "Victorian", "drawing" and then whatever I was looking for- airships, trains, steam engines, etc. I also found a bunch of really good stuff out of some of the Project Gutenberg scanned books. A few of them I had to piece together, like the rocket and the gentleman standing beside it. The "rocket" is actually just part of another image, cut down in photoshop and resized so it looks like a large(ish) rocket-thingy. The factory with the airship floating overhead is the same- just pieced together.

On the exceedingly slim chance that this ever got published, I would think all that artwork would have to be redone. And not by me! I am by no means an artist.

On a side note, I have been thinking of the combat, setup and movement rules for the game. I think once I get to writing them up, that I will use a combat system where you roll a single die for each unit that is in combat, and each roll of a 6 is a hit that eliminates an opposing unit. I am also thinking of revamping the map to dispense with the continental coloring and the bonuses that would normally go along with them in a classic Risk game. That and some other things I am thinking of would make it soo far from Risk that I think I can say it will be a new game. Hmmm...gotta think of another name for it now.

timallen

01-17-2014, 05:20 PM

Here is the next set of cards. I think I will make up 3-5 more (cards, not sets!). Then I have to go back and revise the map, write the rules, and make up 4 more player mats. I am also thinking about re-naming the game. How does "SteamBlitz" sound? Or maybe "Armies of Steam"? I also thought "Steam Age" would work.

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jbgibson

01-17-2014, 05:52 PM

If you want it to be brisk play like Risk, then SteamBlitz is entirely appropriate. I like that you've let it morph away from being just an alternate Risk board and now it stands on its own.

The more rules, the slower the play, ofttimes. Since you're not doing an *accurate* economic simulation, it's okay to simplify things and repeat over and over "It's a game"... :-). Exactly what gets lost when the Booby Trap is played could be left for playtesting - for this contest you mostly need it to LOOK good. And be mappy, of course.

Though frankly if I wanted to buy a copy and play it, your creation would be more likely to get my vote, or more exclusively my vote. So far that's where you're headed (needing to provide a printable version or ship physical copies) !

timallen

01-19-2014, 10:24 AM

Been working on the map a bit and I need everyones opinion. I was thinking of adding in a point track that travels around the board edge, like the one in the game Ticket to Ride. This in effect would create a psudo-minigame within a game, as you see your counter "race" your opponents around the track. But, when adding it on, I found it didnt look like I envisioned it. What do you think? Would you say it works, or is it too heavy and confining for the actual map?

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Jalyha

01-19-2014, 02:19 PM

I think the color is off. The lighter color of your point-border should be the color of the gears in the corners. The darker color, I'd say the color of your steamship.

Also... if the point track is part of the game, it should be enclosed in the game somehow... maybe extending the board color/texture out beyond the points track, or putting a different border around it?

I don't know how to exlain what I mean.. :/

timallen

01-20-2014, 10:43 PM

OK, this map is definitely better and well along the way to being finalized. Time to go back, finish up the last cards and player mats, and rough out the rules.

Hmmm...this little project has rather taken on a life of its own.

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Jalyha

01-20-2014, 11:03 PM

Oooo I really like the two different point tracks.

And the shading is much more... i don't know the word I'm looking for :/ (It's a good word, though!!)

The whole map looks fantastic, and so do the cards. I'm ready to play now :P :P

EDIT: I missed the ship in the top right. It's fantabulous. (yes it is too a word, cause I said it)

timallen

01-20-2014, 11:20 PM

Glad you like it. What I found amazing was the drawing of the cigar shaped ship on the lower right, that I found during my searches for odd looking watercraft. They actually built it! Apparently it was supposed to have had a massive rotating propeller in the center, and this would be powered by two steam engines, one on either side. The idea was that this would cut down on water resistance.

The design was not successful. :)

Jalyha

01-21-2014, 01:23 AM

I'm totally going to build that in my tub.

:P

All of them are fantastic, I don't know why the top-right caught my eye, especially. :)

Lingon

01-22-2014, 09:00 AM

I love the cards you've made for this! The map looks great too, but I think it's a bit too bright and clean compared to the cards. Maybe tone down the colors and grunge it up some more?

timallen

01-30-2014, 01:14 PM

Here are the player mats, with each one having diffferent abilities and a unique name and icon.

I will be using these icons for the tokens, which I still have to make up. Then I guess I will have to figure out how to merge all these different parts (map, cards, tokens, mats) into one humungous image file.

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timallen

01-31-2014, 05:16 PM

Well here is everything I have done. Map, cards, cardback art, player mats, player tokens and the rules. Not shown are the number of each card (some are to be printed 3-4 times) and all the tokens (right now its 50 token/counters for each player). I didnt have time to polish this one up: the card text needs editing and the rules are a Very rough first draft. But I have run out of time so this is how it will have to be...at least for the contest. I will probably continue to work on this on my own, just to get the rules into better shape if nothing else.